[jtravapd]

im pretty much just about to give up on my tank.....its like i dont ever want to turn off the lights because i know in the morning i will be missing fish....there has to be something in my tank killing my fish, but i can't find it..every nite im there sneaking around with the flashlight trying to catch a glimpse of something, but i can't...i have 3 tangs, 1 cardinal, 1 6line, and 1 gobbie, all of which seem fine they are all large in size...i had 13 chromis..im down to 3 ...every nite i lose one more..i had two cleaner shrimp, one is dead...had two star fish, the one that was on the left side of the tank came out one morning with 3 legs missing...haven't seen him since..the one that has stayed on the right side of the tank is doing great....my water levels are all good, so i dont know what to do anymore...last nite i did see a dead chromis under one of my live rocks being eaten by a bristle worm..but i highly doubt he killed it, bristle worms are good for eating dead animals in the tank....could i have a mantis shrimp?..i ahven't been able to spot him, nor hear him in the tank..i did see some kind of white worm with black stripes coming out of one of my live rocks but he ran away as soon as i got a glimps of him...i am at whits end and dont know what i should do...maybe the fish just never were settled in again....but i doubt it, since its only small chromis that are dying...anyone have any advise?..

[rlcline76]

Hmmmm, I am a little curious about this black and white worm. Are you sure it's a worm? Could you say how big around it is? I am wondering if you have an eel.

Becky

[jtravapd]

it was really hard to tell, because as soon as the light would hit it, it would retract back into the live rock..the part i was able to see appeared to be small, about the size of my bristle worms without the bristles.....i know that doesn't help you out at all considering you have no idea how big or small the bristle worms are in my tank..lol...the part though i did see, didn't look big enough to eat my chromis...even though the chromis are small....whatever it was was definately either black with white stripes , or white with black stripes...couldn't tell only saw about 2 inches of it and it retreated back into the live rock..

[jtravapd]

Do u have an ipod?...the it appeared to be almost exactly as big around as the part of the headphones that plugs into the ipod....sorry thats all i could think of thats sitting near me to give you an idea...lol..

[rlcline76]

hmmm
I don't have an ipod. LR can come with many surprises. A shrimp is possible. A large enough bristleworm can do a fish in. I know what you mean about the flashlight business. I am frequently looking for nightlife. Maybe look into getting something with a red lens, your wildlife may not retract so easily and you can get a better look.

[WinkeyWoneye]

The black and white worm was most likely a peanut worm. They are good hitchhikers. They feed on detritus similiar to bristleworms.
I would have to strongly disagree is saying a big enough bristleworm can do in a fish. I have bristleworms as fat as a sharpie marker, and OVER a foot long in my tank. I also have 2 false clowns, a bi-color blenny, a neon goby. Which are all relativly small fish and my bristleworms dont bother them. If something was to die or the minute food hits the water the worms come out in full force and will be all over it, but they wont kill anything themselves.
I wouldnt look at the peanut worms or bristleworms as your possible predator, there must be something else lurking somewhere. You dont have a green brittlestar by chance do you? They WILL catch and eat fish if so and if hungry enough, I suppose could go after another starfish...although I've never heard of that before....
Also, how big is your tank..to be able to house 13 chromis??? Is it possible there where just too many and the stress has been killing them off one by one?? The worms will go after a dead or dying specimen if that was the case...
Good luck in finding your mystery creature either way.

[rlcline76]

The worm could be a peanut worm. I did a little searching yesterday. See if you can find a few images and compare it with what you were permitted to see. Could be stress, anything is possible. Did you find the bodies of the chromis in the morning? Looking at the body can be telling. Kinda like CSI...and I have that stupid song stuck in my head now. I know you said that you saw one bristleworm eating one but that it was more than likely already dead. I have to disagree with WinkeyWoneye (sorry), I think bristleworms are good for the tank, quite the necessity, but they can get silly like everything else. I'd say do some reading. These forums are full of bristleworm questions and concerns. You can check other sites as well to put your mind at rest. But I think you might have something more exciting lurking in your tank. Let us know how the hunting goes!

Becky

[jtravapd]

ok today, i saw a chromis just sitting on the bottom of the tank...he was still alive, but could not swim..i inspected him, and he showed no signs of disease or illness....he did however die a few hours later, so this was the first time i observed it happening during the day...maybe its just the shock of being in a new tank...i acclimated them, with the IV drip method over a period of about an hour or so...maybe they needed longer...the tank is 180 gallons with a 45 gallon sump...maybe i jumped the gun alittle bit, maybe my fish supplier just got a bad batch of chromis....who knows....i think its funny how this hobbie has us grown adults tip toeing around at nite with flashlights..lol...its all part of the fun though..lol......i am curious to know what caused my purple starfish to lose three of his legs then die off...the other one i have is doing just fine....mother nature i guess...

[rlcline76]

Maybe we should back up a bit. How long has your tank been up and running? What are you water parameters? I know you say they are good, but it might be useful to post them anyway. Have you had to do any kind of water treatments lately? Starfish can be sensitive to changes in the water. Tell us all the sordid details, even what kind of water you are using. I want to say that someone else has posted a thread within the last few weeks about chromis hitting rock bottom. If I find a moment, I might go searching.

Becky